


The Love Disease

by IAmTheFabulous



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25478452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmTheFabulous/pseuds/IAmTheFabulous
Summary: Zachary suffers from SFAL, a disease that causes a person to fall in love at first sight of a person the fates choose. The problem? Not so long ago, people like him were hunted, imprisoned, and slaughtered for their murderous tendencies. But while that was in the past, hunters still remain, lurking around and looking for ways to destroy those peoples lives. So, it's only natural that when he's sent to a school full of people like him that a hunter follows. And not only is Adalyn a beautiful, stubborn, and highly sarcastic girl... she is the love of Zachary's life.





	1. Chapter 1

Zachary’s kind had been hunted without mercy for centuries. Slaughtered and imprisoned, they had been forced to live their lives in constant fear. But that was in the past now. And the fate that now awaited him was far worse than what he could imagine.  
“You’re sending me where?” he had known this was coming, but it was all too soon.  
“We’re sending you to Cliff Edge Academy. It’s a school specifically made for high schoolers with SFAL,” his mom replied. It was evident on her face that she was not a fan of this plan either. And his dad? He was the parent Zachary had gotten the gene from and had not stopped ranting about the school since the moment it was announced.  
Zachary let out a loud, long sigh. Being forced into a school by the government with a bunch of other kids who had the same thing he did was going to be straight up heck.  
“I know it’s not convenient, but the government required it, so--”  
“FRICK THE GOVERNMENT!!!” his dad shouted, storming in.  
His mom sighed. “Please stop it with your plotting.”  
“We don’t need their negativity in our lives! They’re trying to boss us around like it’s nothing!”  
Zachary sighed. He wanted to argue, but with his father’s reputation, if he didn’t go to school they were all in trouble.  
“I know, but--”  
“It’s ok. I’m going to go pack my bags,” he said, then turned to his dad. “And once I arrive, I’ll give them all heck.”  
He sighed. “I believe you. Just be careful, alright? I don’t want you getting killed.”  
Zachary grinned. “They couldn’t kill me if they tried.”  
His dad mirrored the grin “That’s my boy.”  
His mom sighed and shook her head, but there were traces of a smile on her face. Zachary smiled back, then walked up the stairs and to his room. He flopped down on his springy bed, staring up at the ceiling.  
He hadn’t found the one yet, though he’d wager that many at the school would have. He chuckled quietly to himself. SFAL. The love disease. It didn’t help that he had magic added onto that. Two rare traits. One hated. The other one a mystery to those who weren’t fortunate enough to have it.  
On the thought that others might have already found their “love at first sight,” he wondered what the school’s policy on that was. Ripping the students from their lovers would cause an upriot. He snorted. Maybe the government would be less harsh if the people with SFAL weren’t so murderous. But there was nothing that could be done about that. It was in their genes. Murderous crazies that fell in love with “the one” the moment they laid eyes on them. He was no exception.  
With a sigh, he tried to accept his fate as he stood up and began to pack. But the fates themselves knew that he had never been one to comply.


	2. Chapter 2

As Adalyn sneaky-sneked (as she liked to call it) towards the school, she couldn’t help but smile just a bit. This was going to be fun.  
It was foolish of the government to trust that the SFALs wouldn’t go ahead and just murder their way out of that school and into the public. It was even more foolish of them to allow the act of kidnapping and bringing their lovers to the school with them. The fact that was legal made her sick. But there was nothing she could do. Nothing too major, at least. But even just the moderately minor could be fun. And it could escalate. She’d just have to wait and see.  
She crept around the building, looking for an open window. It took her a moment before she could find one, and once she did, she smiled. This was going all too easily.   
The school had been open for a few weeks now, and most of the SFALs had arrived. Along with their lovers. And that meant that now was the perfect time to pull off her plan.   
She pulled herself through the window and landed on the floor as silent as a still, calm night. And like a cat, she snuck towards the door, not making a sound. There was the sound of someone shifting in their bed, and she stopped. Glancing over, she could tell that the student was a boy with shaggy black hair that was clearly in one of the higher grades. Maybe even older than her. As he stilled, she let out a silent sigh, then continued to slink through the room.   
She pulled open the door quickly enough to ensure it didn’t creak, then closed it, pulling the handle down as it shut so that it fell silently into place. Then, she continued to slither through the hallways. Finally, she reached an empty classroom, and shut the door, being sure to lock it.  
She flicked out her wand, then took on a stance, readying herself for the kickback she knew was coming. Casting a love spell was hard, but creating an anti-love spell was far trickier. Not to mention that she intended to cast it on many, many students that night. There was going to be some major recoil on the magic’s part.  
She began the movements, steadily increasing them in speed. Then, she began to whisper the chant. The tip of the wand began to emit glowing wisps of green and gold, and she could feel the magical energy gather in the room. She would never grow bored of the refreshing, almost crackling with power feeling that surrounded her.  
Finally, she reached the end of the spell. Making the last few movements, she grinned, then said the final words of the incantation. She could feel the energy intensify, almost tangible, then it swept out of the room in a huge rush. The light vanished, and satisfied with her work, she turned to the window for her grand escape.   
And the boy she had seen earlier was sitting right there on the windowsill.   
She had no clue how he had managed to get there without her noticing, and she grew very nervous. Was he going to call for help? She could fight her way out of a lot, but she didn’t know what she would do if her face became a wanted one.   
She flipped around and made a break for the door, but mid step, she froze. She couldn’t move. She tried frantically, but it was as though she were frozen in time. She heard him approaching from behind her, and it was only a moment before he was in front of her. Along with his hair, his pale skin glinted in the moonlight and his eyes were glowing a bright, icy blue. Glowing. Crap, he had magic too.   
He pulled down her hood to reveal her green hair that was tinted a slight blue and her yellow eyes. A split second after, she could feel her face regain the ability to move, and she gave him the worst glare she could muster.   
A small smile crossed over his face. “So, do tell, what was that spell you performed?”  
“What does it matter to you?” she whispered with a sneer.   
“Well, I mean, you kind of snuck into my school and cast a really long, intense, and powerful spell. Not to mention that you seem to be very anxious to get out. So do tell… what was that?”  
“You still don’t need to know.”  
“I’m not letting you leave this room until you tell me. And depending on what you did, that could cause quite a problem for you.”  
Adalyn sighed. “I may or may not have cast a certain spell that makes someone feel the deepest form of hate towards another person of my choice…”   
The boy snorted. “Oh? And who did you cast it on?”  
“… every SFAL in this school’s lover…?”   
“... Oh boy.”  
“Yes, yes, a very troubling predicament. Now will you let me go? I don’t particularly want to die today.”  
He grabbed her arm and began to drag her out of the room. “Just keep in mind, the louder you protest, the more likely someone will wake up, and the more likely they’ll realize that you were the one behind all of this.”  
“Are you going to keep me here?!” Adalyn asked, and though it was in a whisper, she made sure that her outrage was very clear.   
“Yes.”  
Her glare intensified. “You didn’t…”  
They rounded a corner, and the boy looked at her. “Yes, yes I did.”  
“But I’m a hunter!”  
“And I’m a SFAL. What are you gonna do?” Zachary replied. A smile was beginning to cross over his face. He found her amusing. She snarled.   
“I’m going to get out of here, whether you like it or not.”  
“And then I’ll find you.” he replied.   
Her grip around her wand tightened. While she was frozen in place, the number of spells she could cast were quite limited, but there were still a few. She mumbled another incantation, but right as the energy was beginning to blast out of her, it froze in the same way she did. The energy just… froze. But that shouldn’t have even been possible.   
How powerful was this guy?  
“Are you trying to attract attention?” he asked.   
“It won’t matter if I attract attention if I’m gone.” she said.   
“Too bad I won’t be allowing that.” he said. Then, he walked over to a door, opened it, and dragged her in. Shutting and locking the door behind him, he dragged her to a corner, then sat down on his bed at the opposite side of the room. Then, everything released.   
There was a minor explosion, blasting a few chairs away from her and causing a burst of light. The boy looked around the room for a moment to see how far the chairs had been thrown back.   
“Nice. That was quite powerful for any regular spellcaster our age,” he said.   
“I practice,” she said, glaring. “A lot. It seems you do too.”  
“Indeed.” He brushed some of his hair out of his face. “My family isn’t exactly ashamed of our abilities.”  
“Nor is mine,” she said. “Exactly how powerful are you? I mean, you can freeze magical energy. That’s unheard of.”  
“Only minor magical energy. If you think my little magic tricks are worth anything you should see my father’s abilities.”  
This made Adalyn curious, but she figured that was something she could find out on her own later, when she wasn’t trapped inside of a school full of her family and friends’ worst enemies. Right now, the question was how she was going to get out.   
He yawned. “What’s your name?”  
“I’m Adalyn,” she said.   
“No last name?”   
“Not one that you need to know.”  
He laughed. “My name is Zachary. And you probably don’t want to know my last name either. Now, I’m exhausted, so I’m gonna just lead you to your room, ok?”  
“Fine. But I have one last question.”  
“Go ahead,” he said.   
“How did you catch me?” she asked.  
“I’m a light sleeper. If someone sneaks through my room in the middle of the night, I can tell,” Zachary replied. He led her to the room just across from his. “This is where you’ll be staying. And I wouldn’t try to escape. You’d only make a ruckus, wake people up, and increase the chances of being blamed for what you did.” He snorted. “Oh, people are gonna be pissed.”  
“That was the point.”   
“I realized,” he said, then opened the door. “Goodnight, Adalyn.”  
She glared at him, wishing that looks really could kill, then walked into the room, shutting and locking the door. With as much power as he had, there wasn’t a doubt that there were enchantments on the room to keep her from escaping.   
She was going to have to get creative.


	3. Chapter 3

Three weeks into school, and he had already found his lover. The girl of his dreams. His destiny. He nearly rolled his eyes. He had always thought it was such strange wording. At least, until that night.  
He sat by the window, just waiting for Adalyn to make the escape attempt. She couldn’t get past the door--he had enchantments there. The window had been welded shut, like all others in the school. And he knew she wasn’t stupid enough to try to break it open. That would wake people up, and being a hunter, if she hadn’t been caught before that day she probably knew what she was doing.  
It was only a few moments later when he felt the pang of exhaustion hit him. She must’ve been using magic, then. He really should have taken away her wand. But it wasn’t as if making him fall asleep was going to do any harm. The enchantments wouldn’t wear off, and the window would wake him along with many other people up.  
It was really such a pain that he was so weak to sleep magic. He would’ve cast a counterspell, but it hit him so fast and so hard that he just didn’t have the energy.  
“Well played,” he mumbled with a small smile. At least having a lover wouldn’t be boring.  
***  
The moment Zachary woke up, he leaped out of bed and almost broke out into a run towards Adalyn’s room. Turning the lock on the door, he thrust the door open.  
She was gone. He sighed, but smiled just a little. This was going to be very, very interesting.  
He stepped into the room and began to look around. The window wasn’t broken, and he could still feel the magical energy coming from the enchantment on the door. Then, as he stepped in and looked at the wall behind the door, he realized exactly what had happened.  
The vent had been cracked open, and though it was a tight space, people could still crawl through it. He looked around for just a second more, and found a small note sitting on the pillow.  
‘Till next time.  
He snorted, then folded the note and put it in his pocket. She saw this as a game, then. He’d be down to play.  
Breakfast was interesting. As expected, there were many, many pissed off faces. He smiled a bit for just a moment, then regained his composure. Still, there were a fair few students who seemed more worried than angry. They must not have had lovers. And then there was his cousin.  
Cy was an interesting person with a tendency to be either far too friendly or far too intense, depending on the day. Zachary walked over and sat down next to him, where he usually did.  
His cousin was already deep into a conversation with some of the nervous looking students. And from what he could tell, they were only getting more and more scared listening to him.  
“I was about to check out what was making the noise when my vent went flying off the wall, and a dark figure wearing a hood popped out and jumped out the window. Two stories up, too.”  
Zachary snorted. So Adalyn had just broken into his cousin’s room and hopped out the window. He’d be full out laughing at the story if he hadn’t known who she was and that she was in big trouble. It was fortunate he hadn’t seen her face.  
“Stop scaring the kids, Cy,” he said.  
Cy looked at him, then smiled. “You’re just as childish as they are.”  
Zachary grinned. “Oh dear. Figured me out, you did.”  
“You know it. Fine, I’ll stop for now.”  
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m not particularly in the mood to go to class, so…” he said, then smirked. “Care to join me on a little quest?”  
Cy smirked as well. “I’d ask what this quest is, but I get the feeling that I probably ought to just see.”  
“Precisely.”  
“Well then, I would love to,” he said. “When shall we begin?”  
“I think as soon as possible. So now,” Zachary said.  
Adalyn thought of it as a game? He was ready to start.


	4. Chapter 4

As Adalyn approached the door, she took a deep breath, then knocked. Her grandmother opened it, then looked her up and down, a stern frown crossing her face.   
“Where have you been?”  
“I was at Cliff Edge Academy,” she replied.  
“And what were you doing there?” her grandmother asked.   
“I cast a spell on the SFALs’ lovers. A hatred spell I invented. Every lover at that school now hates their SFAL match.”  
“Did you kill anyone? Imprison? Torture?”  
“No, I--”  
“Then don’t come bragging to me about things not worth bragging about,” her grandmother said. “Now, go to your room. I expect you to double your training this afternoon.”  
Adalyn frowned, but nodded, then walked into the house, up the stairs, and into her room. She laid down in her bed and sighed. Expectations were hard. Her parents, their parents, their parents, and as far back as she could remember had always hunted down the SFALs. She trained every day, trying her hardest to live up to their expectations, but she could never bring herself to do anything too horrible to them. They were people too, weren’t they? But her family didn’t understand that. So there she was. A failure.   
She sat up. Her grandmother had said double the training that day. She figured she might as well triple it. It would get her mind off of things, anyways.   
She opened her window, climbed out, and scaled up the walls of the huge house. She had done this many times, so she reached the roof in no time. Pulling herself up, she stood, admiring the scenery. A seemingly ancient pine tree forest reached into the back yard, and extended onwards until it fell upon the huge mountains that stood like a fortress. On the other side of the house was a small, dirt road. The only public, safe way to and from her home and the city.  
Forcing herself to re-focus, she pulled out her wand and took a deep breath. Then, she began.   
Magical energy surged from her as she let out a cascade of spells. Her wand was flying in every direction with every swoosh of her arm, flick of her wrist, any of it. She rapid fired incantations and moved as if to dodge spells being thrown back at her.   
Only a moment later, she heard someone say something behind her, and her wand flew out of her hand. She whipped around, trying to catch it, but it simply went too fast.   
It zoomed straight into Zachary’s hand. She glared. She knew that he would find her, but she didn’t think he could track her down this quickly.   
Standing next to him was another boy around his age with brown hair and green eyes. He was tall and tan, in contrast to Zachary’s smaller, slim, pale figure. Still, they both had the same kind of spark in their eyes. A spark of mischief.   
“What?” she asked.   
“I’ve come here to train with you,” Zachary said.   
“Go away.”  
“How rude.”  
“I have no obligation to be polite to you,” she said.   
“Look,” he said, brushing some hair out of his face “I’m not supposed to be here right now. I came specifically to see you and what you were up to. I’m under the impression that it was training, so I’m gonna help you out.”  
“Then why did you take my wand?” she asked.  
“Well, have you ever tried wandless magic?” he asked.   
Adalyn looked at the new guy. “Is he crazy? Is he actually insane? Wandless magic is a myth.”  
“Only if you believe it is,” he said, then grinned. “Although yes, he is crazy.”  
She looked back over at Zachary. “This is insane. I’m leaving.” Then she turned around, starting to walk away.   
“Without your wand?” he asked.   
She flipped around and glared. There was a moment of long silence. Finally, she sighed. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”   
“Wonderful,” he said, putting her wand in his pocket. Then, his hands began to glow vibrant blue, wisps of black smoke rising above it. Then, he disappeared, reappearing right in front of her. She stumbled back. That shouldn’t have been possible. Then again, so was the fact that his hands were glowing. And that he could freeze magical energy.   
“Too lazy to walk, eh?” the new guy asked.  
Zachary turned his head to look at him. “Do you want to fight me?”  
“I’d win.”  
He turned around fully, and the blue in his hands began to glow even brighter. The new guy’s hands started glowing green, his with little yellow wisps. Adalyn was all too tempted to shove them both off the roof, and she would have done it if she didn’t want to see this fight so badly. She didn’t have to wait very long.   
New guy’s magic took the form of claws, and he lunged at Zachary. Zachary let out a blast of magic that sent him flying back. He landed with one hand steadying himself on the ground, but was still skidding backwards a bit because of the force.   
Adalyn, seeing her chance, snuck over while Zachary was laughing and stole her wand back out of his hoodie pocket. He didn’t seem to notice.   
New guy stood back up and shouted something into the sky. The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance, and very quickly, storm clouds began to cover the sky.   
“You’ve been improving, Cy,” Zachary said. “But not enough.”  
Lightning came shooting down from the sky right over him, and he lifted his hand to the bright light, catching it. It formed a ball in his hand, and he tossed it into the air, catching it again. The heat Adalyn felt surrounding it turned to freezing cold. She tightened her grip around her wand.   
Zachary threw the ball of lightning at New boy, Cy, who thrust his arm out. The lightning exploded and rippled off of an invisible wall of some sort.   
“Using a shield, coward?” he asked. But Adalyn could tell that he wasn’t intending it seriously. These two may have been fighting with very intense magic that she hadn’t thought possible, but she could still sense the brotherly-like love that they had for each other.   
“You use shields all the time,” Cy replied.   
“Only when I’m hitting people over the head with them.”  
Cy opened his mouth to reply when another stroke of lightning streaked down from the sky, this time, above his head. Zachary had manipulated his storm.   
He lifted his shield above his head, and the lightning struck it, but this time instead of spreading only a bit, it spread out around the shield and down onto his arm. He yelped, grabbing his arm.   
Zachary laughed again. “Do you surrender?”  
“Never!”  
“Well too bad, cuz I’m not fighting you anymore,” he said, and the glow surrounding his hands faded.   
The glow around Cy’s faded as well. “Coward.”  
“It’s not cowardice. It’s pity.”  
Cy rolled his eyes. It was then that Adalyn saw her long awaited chance.   
She whipped her wand out and into view, then made a few motions. The other two looked over at her, but it was too late. With a large bang, they were both sent flying off the roof. She smiled. That had been satisfying.   
She walked over and looked over the edge to see Cy clinging onto a tree branch, looking irked. Zachary was a few feet below the roof, hovering there. He was just floating. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised.   
“Remind me why you like this chick?” Cy said.   
“‘Cuz I just do. Don’t question it.” he said.   
“Problem?” Adalyn asked.   
“Yeah, actually,” Zachary said. “You snuck back your wand without me even noticing. Not to mention your little escape yesterday. You’re too sneaky, and it’s proved even more than I’m capable of handling.”  
“Wait wait wait, hold up…” Cy said “is she the one that kicked my vent out of the wall and jumped out the freaking window?”  
“Yeah, why?” Adalyn replied.   
“Oh my goodness… are you the one that cast the spell that turned our lovers against us?”  
She bit her lip. That had come back to bite. Still, there was no going back now. “Yeah, why?”  
Cy turned back to Zachary. “Zachary, why?”  
“We’ve been over this. This is one of those things you’re not supposed to question.”  
He snorted. “Grandpa is gonna be furious.”  
Zachary’s eyes widened in what seemed to be aggravation. “Number one, we don’t talk about him. Especially not in front of her,” he said, glancing at Adalyn. “Number two, that’s a need to know kind of a thing… and he absolutely does not.”  
“He’s gonna find out.”  
“So?”  
“He’s gonna be pissed,” Cy pulled himself onto the tree branch, then sat down, crossing his legs.   
“Well, that’s his problem,” Zachary said.   
“Um, who’s your granda, and why would he have a problem with me?” Adalyn asked.   
“Nothing you would care about,” he said, and as unconvincing as it was, it got even worse when Cy facepalmed.   
“Holy crap man,” he said. “You’re gonna be in so much trouble.”  
“Shut up.” Zachary turned to Adalyn. “I haven’t introduced you two. Adalyn, this is my cousin, Cy. He’s adopted, but he was still fortunate enough to get the gene. Cy, this is Adalyn. You better not kill her.”  
“Not planning on it. But I’d watch out, because other people aren’t as generous and glorious as I am.”  
“You should stop talking. You’re starting to sound like Liza.” Zachary raised an eyebrow.   
“Oh frick, no.” he said.   
“Who’s Liza?” Adalyn asked.   
“Our cousin,” Zachary said. “She’s literally the most annoying person ever.”  
Cy laughed. “Really? I find her quite entertaining, although I would never want to sound like her.” He smirked, turning to Adalyn. “Zachary doesn’t like her because she’s more powerful than he is.”  
“You act like I hate her, which I don’t. I just find that fact highly annoying.”  
Adalyn frowned. “Based on your guys’ fight, I thought that neither of you would admit to someone being more powerful than you.”  
“Liza is the exception,” Zachary said. “She may not have gotten grandpa’s SFAL gene, but she did get his magic. More so than the rest of us.”  
“She also got a bit of crazy. Most likely from grandpa, but it’s not the same…” Cy said.   
“Basically, she’s not someone you want to get into a fight with. Even a joking one,” he said. “Last time I did, even the healing potion wasn’t enough to fix it all. That was a painful month.”  
Adalyn frowned. If the all-powerful Zachary was scared of a fight with his cousin, she couldn’t help but wonder more about them. And his grandpa… she needed to know more about that too.   
Zachary sighed and looked up at the sky. She looked up as well. It was becoming evening. She bit her lip. Her grandparents hated it when she trained on the roof, but that was going to have to be the story she went with. After all, the truth would be much worse.  
“Well, it seems Cy and I have to get going.”  
Adalyn raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to try to kidnap me or whatever?”  
“Too much of a hassle, and I’m not in the mood for that today.” A smile spread onto his face as he did a hairflip. “Cy, you better hurry getting down from that tree, because I’m not waiting for you.”  
Cy began climbing down the tree, and Zachary smiled over at her. “It was good seeing you. ‘Till next time.”  
Then, settling down on the ground, he walked into the forest, Cy following shortly after. It didn’t take long for them to vanish into the vast forest that stretched on and on. She sighed, then climbed down from the roof and into the yard.   
She looked down at herself. She didn’t look nearly exhausted enough to have performed the training she had been told to. She bit her lip. It was too late to do anymore training--they were expecting her to come inside now and have dinner. This wouldn’t be fun. But what was done was done, and there was no going back anymore. She was going to have to suffer the consequences that awaited her.   
She sighed, trying to convince herself that she deserved what was coming as she walked back into the mansion.


End file.
